


Writing for Juniper Moon

by GoonySam



Series: Pen-Fright and Juniper [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Friendship/Love, Heartwarming, Letters, Love Letters, Physical Disability, Romance, Teen Romance, dysgraphia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:54:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28270470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoonySam/pseuds/GoonySam
Summary: For her, spiders and snakes were her worst enemy; for me, it was a writing utensil.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Series: Pen-Fright and Juniper [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2071083
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	Writing for Juniper Moon

**Author's Note:**

> Just a Secret Santa Gift from your good pal the Goon of Goons. Enjoy, you Goon :)

The words I desired to say lost their way in the fingertips They wobbled against the plastic, and the graphite could barely portray a letter. Even the silicone grips that held my thumb and index finger in place couldn’t fix the mess that was my writing. Why do pencils and pens hate me so? Why does my hand get nervous in front of paper? My teeth grit enough for my jaws to pop, running a damp and aching hand through my hair. I stared down at the murky paper covered in eraser hairs, trying to distinguish the “J” in “Juniper”. There were so many things I wanted to say, yet here I was, stuck on the first letter of her name. Just glancing at the discolored parchment and noticing its tint brought a sense of dread, and doubt clouded my mind. Did a force of nature like Juniper Moon even deserve someone like me? I felt inclined to remove my fingers from the silicone grips and right on the keyboard-

_I was back to the pre-pubescence of a nine-year-old’s body, remembering the feeling of old, dusty carpet against dry skin, dirty dishes neglected in murky sinks, the scrapbooks of laminated letters, and a love-struck, red-curled girl laying on her stomach. She viewed those letters like treasures, despite such treasures being yellowed with age. I wished I know what it was like to look through those opalescent lenses, filled with absolute certainty and wit. Maybe it was her bullet-like quips that came through those cherry tinted lips that compelled me to her. But what was it I could offer? My “pen-fright”? Lazy fingers? Dysgraphia? “Look! There’s more of them letters over there! Momma must’ve had quite the charm to make a single man tire out his wrist like that,” the memory bounced through the cavern of a skull, sending ripples in the brain’s divots. That playful shove of hers was all too familiar, “But I ain’t too surprised. I mean, have you seen me? I’m getting there!”_

_“Th-That’s... about the funniest thing I’ve ever heard.”_

_“Just because you’re growing a spine, doesn’t mean you also get to have a terrible sense of humor.” The laughs still echoed throughout the empty house, distinct enough for ripples of my memory to reach my ears. I tried to glance at the letters and share her fascination, but I never had the same experience or joy in expressing thoughts through writing. The pencil always ran away from me, or my hand turned to jelly just at its touch. However, it was Juniper Moon that made me want to know, “... What-uh… is it you like about... these letters anyway?”_

_She shrugged, though it signified more of an energized bounce than anything, “Never really came to know my pa, but seeing these sincere words assures they made me out of love. People nowadays do text messages and emails, y’know, the vanillas. Writing a letter is just...like making and signing a contract at the same time. I dunno... the words feel more binding in a way.”_

_“In a way, huh? Well, in that case, I have the ugliest contract in the world.”_

_“Just ‘cause it’s ugly doesn’t make it any less binding, kid.”_

_“Stop calling me kid, I’m your age! And-uh... the stuff about contracts and stuff.”_

“Yeah?”

_“Sounds dumb.”_

_“Hey, your pen-fright isn’t an excuse to judge! You’ll never get a girlfriend that way.”_

_“Well-uh, neither will you!”_

_“What? Get a girlfriend?”_

_“Y-You know what I mean!"_

_\---_

I grabbed the foggy tinted paper and crumpled it into a ball, tossing it into the mountain of mistakes I’d spent the past hour building out of nothing but effort and sweat. “Just because the contract can be ugly, Juniper Moon, doesn’t mean it had to be,” I grumbled to myself. My wrist and fingers were aching from the strain of the past hour, but I didn’t want to stop. Each crumpled ball of paper added to the pile fueled my hope that I could make a cohesive word. Maybe I can be able to write her name this time. I had a good feeling this time; _I could do this._

While it was the mountain of attempts that brought the fuel, every graphite stroke in the lettering lit the flame. I slowly but surely inched my way towards the end of the first word, wanting the binding promise to be as eligible and in between the lines as possible. Hell, I even bought the expensive parchment with raised lines to achieve that sort of neatness. It was always her getting into trouble for my sake, I might as well go through some of my own in return. Mother and the teachers had told me not to waste such expensive paper unless it was important. Juniper was more than an excusable cause; she was a force of nature that I couldn’t help but reckon with. With that thought in mind, I moved onto the “p”, biting on the inside of my cheek.

\---

Pretty terrifying, _was my first thought when I first saw her coming my way on the swings_. _I remember our first encounter, a crooked tooth girl with bullet-like wit and ripely plucked words out of that bush of red curls. Hell, I could consider even her quips a different type of poetry. She astounded me to the point of frightening me, yet my cootie-fearing self was compelled by her quips and that unwarranted amount of confidence held in those crooked teeth._

\---

I let out a puff of air once I saw the curl in the letter, admiring the work I had done so far. I had no time to celebrate any further; I needed to tend to the “e” in her name.

\---

_Even after the countless playdates and marathons away from spiders on the walls, she always found different ways to surprise me. I didn’t expect her to arrive at my house, frozen peas calming the swell of a nasty bruise. It wasn’t until she put the worms back in the ground and the cold peas back on her eyes when I found the courage to talk, “J-Juniper... um... what happened to your eye?”_

_“There were some nasty people out in the playground, you see! Y’know, when momma is away, I play with you or I just wander around the town-”_

_“Wait a- what, by yourself-?”_

_“But today, I was playing with some of our classmates in the playground, and they said some nasty things about you, callin’ you dumb and everything! Like momma always said, ‘Give em what they deserve’!”_

_“J-Juniper... please don’t tell me you-”_

_“Yuh, huh! I tried talkin’ some sense into them. ‘You got a small mind for such a big talker’ I said. They were probably jealous of my wit, and her fist went right across the face!” My eyes widened along with her grin, crooked teeth shining in all their glory. She muddled me with confusion, my eyes scanning from the colorful bruise to the red curl caked in mud; Pride was all I could see. Not even my timidness could withhold the huff of absolute disbelief._

_“You could’ve at least... told your mother, y-you know?”_

_“Yeah, but I think she’s just tired of treating the aftermaths of fights; not everyone appreciates a good ol’ genius, kid!”_

_“This... happened before?”_

_“Your problem is that you’re always too nice and timid, so I’ve taken it upon myself to defend your butt from the guys you let call you dumb! I’m sorta like your bodyguard with no pay, which is pretty illegal, but if it’s out of the good of my very heart,” She puts a fist on her chest, “I’m sure it won’t be a problem in court.”_

_“I-I can defend myself... y’know.”_

_“Yeah, you probably could, but like I said, you’re too nice. I like that you’re too nice, you have the patience to hang out with me... and_ I _get to protect your bony butt.”_

\---

I inched my way through the curve of the “r”, my eyes set on the prize that was the end of this word. I could actually _read_ it this time, maybe even good enough for Juniper’s curious opalescent lenses to observe and read. It was only one word, but it was already so close to perfection. “G-great…” I slumped back in my chair, realization dawning over me, “One down… around twenty more to go.” How would I get through an entire sentence or two dedicated to her? 

My dull and weary eyes drifted over to the clock ticking to midnight, each tick and crawl of the second hand signifying a second towards the deadline. The deadline... the deadline? My murky mind was struggling to find the meaning behind the word _deadline_. The more I tried to think about it, the less real the word seemed to have. 

\---

_“That’s when it is?” I remember the sour taste in my mouth, the dread along with the aftertaste of lemon drops, “The deadline?”_

_“Yeah... guess it’s the end of the line, kid.” I couldn’t see a sign of that crooked tooth grinned of hers, and I didn’t know how much I needed it to fill the silence. With no words exchanged between us, it left plenty of room for wars to break out in my ever racing mind._ You need to tell her, _one side protested. The other, however, held its ground with a powerful gaze; strict and uncompromising. I once again struggled to find the words. I had always adored that wit and confidence of hers, her uncanny ability to find the words that fit the wearer, so certain that it became reality. But now, we both ran dry of what to say, what to do._

_“... D-Do you... need help?”_

_“Hmm?”_

_“With-ah... packing and stuff.”_

_“You know it takes, like, five minutes to pack all of my belongings, right?”_

_“I just don’t want you to go yet, June. You’re really important to me, y’know?”_

_“Well, I don’t want to go either, you’re like the brother I’ve never had.”_

_“No, I mean-” No, not here, not now. Just like the day before, and the day before that._

\---  
“You gotta do it now, Tom.” Not even the threat of battle sat on my nerves. Both sides came to a unanimous agreement; a _truce_ for Juniper Moon. I’d get through this letter one step at a time, and the words sputtered their way through my fingers.


End file.
